Why has the data been reduced to 20-bit for the download version?

20-bit audio offers a dynamic range of around 120dB. This is greater than the dynamic range of most professional-grade preamps/A-D converters, so there is no perceptible loss of audio quality. Any noise introduced due to the bit-reduction process is well below the analogue noise floor inherent in the recordings, and leads to much smaller downloads.

Why does it have these requirements?

What kind of limitations exist when using this product with BFD Eco?

When using this expansion in BFD Eco, limitations apply in terms of the audio channels and articulations that are available (this is one of BFD Eco's limitations, as opposed to the fully-featured BFD3 or BFD2).

How large is the download version?

Why do some kit-pieces appear in multiple versions?

Some kit-pieces that were originally classified as toms in the initial release of BFD Percussion have subsequently provided as snare versions in the newer download version - this is in order to allow more mic channels and articulations. These kit-pieces feature a '2.1' suffix, to indicate that they require BFD2 v2.1 or later.

Both the original and the updated versions are provided in the BFD Percussion download version, in order to retain compatibility across all existing projects.

The BFD Percussion sounds are recorded in a new room. Will I be able to blend them properly with my other BFD drum sounds?

Absolutely. In conventional recording situations, the drum room is not often used as the recording space for the other instruments, especially if an expensive, specialised drum room has been used. Percussion sounds are more suited to smaller, more intimate rooms.

BFD Percussion simply sounds great and sits well in any musical context.

Why do some of the kit-pieces have "Kick" and "Snare" in their names?

Certain instruments are presented as kicks and snares for several reasons. Firstly, they feature multiple direct microphones. Also, some kit-pieces were classified as snares because they required the extra articulations provided by snare slots for full expression.

In the case of instruments such as congas, 2 snare slots will be required for a set of two congas, if you need all the articulations available for both.

Bongo sets are classified as toms, and should be loaded into the tom 4, 5 and 6 slots if both of the two available articulations are required.

Most of the other instruments have two articulations and are classified as kicks, cymbals or percussion.

What's the best way to use these sounds?

There are several ways in which BFD Percussion's kit-pieces can be used. Many of the kit-pieces feature 2 articulations so can simply be loaded into any percussion, tom or cymbal slot within your BFD software.

Certain kit-pieces such as congas, timbales and so on feature more than 2 articulations and are classified as snares. The way in which these are used depends on whether you're using BFD 1.5, BFD2, BFD3 or BFD Eco.

BFD 1.5 Kit-pieces classified as snares or kicks must be loaded into snare or kick slots in order to be able to access all mic channels and all articulations. You can also use the 'Type' drop-down menu in any slot's kit-piece selector, although the number of articulations available can be reduced, depending on the destination slot.

BFD2 Any kit-piece can be loaded into any slot using the 'Type' drop-down menu in any slot's kit-piece chooser. All mic channels become available in the mixer, although any excess articulations must be mapped to MIDI keys of your choice.

BFD Eco Kit-pieces classified as snares or kicks must be loaded into snare or kick slots. The 3 percussion slots allow you to load kit-pieces classified as toms, cymbals or percussion (use the 'Type' drop-down menu to specify).

BFD3 Any of the kit-pieces (known as 'Drums' in BFD3) can be loaded into any drum slot. All mic channels become available in the mixer although any excess articulations must be mapped to MIDI keys of your choice.

I can't hear the sounds in BFD!

There are no known manufacturing defects at this time.

It is not possible to simply drag-n-drop the audio data from the DVDs in the boxed version as with older boxed packs. BFD Percussion has "BFD compressed audio" (bfdca) files on the DVDs to reduce the size of the download and boxed DVD delivery. The installer MUST be used to decompress and install the sounds to the correct location.

How were the kit-pieces recorded?

BFD Percussion was produced by John Emrich and the same team responsible for BFD Jazz & Funk Collection, at Omega Studios in Rockville, Maryland, USA. The session was recorded at Omega’s Studio B, the recording room measuring 27 ft. x 24 ft. with a 12 ft. ceiling. This room was chosen because the nature of the instruments demanded a smaller, more intimate setting. The sound characteristic of the room is very similar to that in Jazz & Funk Collection, so it’s perfect to use with it, although the instruments in BFD Percussion Collection sound great when mixed with any other BFD kits, or anything else for that matter!

The recording chain was set up for maximum detail, precision and transparency: the aim was to capture the diverse instruments as naturally and accurately as possible.

Digidesign HD 192 A/D converters were used for all the channels. Royer 122 ribbon mics were used almost exclusively for the direct mics, capturing the harmonic intricacies of these organic instruments without colouring the sound. No additional processing was applied, except for some very subtle compression on the Room and PZM channels. The channels were set up as follows:

Direct A Royer 122 was used for the direct signal. Instruments that are classified as kicks or snares also used either a second Royer 122, a Neumann U84, or a Neumann FET47. These mics were fed into a set of API preamps. There are no bleed channels, as only one instrument was recorded at a time.

PZM Pair of Crown PZM 30Ds, approx. 18 ft. from the kit, through Focusrite Red 1 preamps and a pair of linked Urei LA4 limiters (set to 4:1 ratio, 9:00 threshold, and 10:30 on the gain - there were no units on the front panels!).

A few final words from John: "When recording the plastic bucket, the last articulation recorded was the hit on the bottom of the bucket. It broke after two strikes. I then spent 20 minutes looking around the studio for another bucket. Keep in mind that it was two in the morning! I found another bucket outside that had been used for cement. I spent another 20 minutes chipping out the dried cement and began recording again. All of this to bring the sound of a plastic bucket to the world of BFD! "This is the first documented high definition recording of a kitchen sink, in all of its glory, and we used a Royer 122 to capture this momentous occasion. My wife, Leslie, was thrilled! She got a new sink."